The formula is quite good: the first coat is a bit thin, as you’ll find with many Essies, but the second coat can be applied more generously as it self-evens reasonably well. I got just about full opacity with two coats (I would probably do a bit extra just to get those pesky bald marks to disappear), as you can see in the swatch.

You’ll also notice that in dimmer light, Merino Cool looks decidedly taupe, but in brighter light, it can perk up with a plummy mauve tone.

I think this is a fantastic shade that can be worn by a lot of different skintones due to its fairly neutral base. It may not have absolutely perfect application, but I feel the color is gorgeous enough to warrant a high recommendation.

Essie Nail Polish retails for US$8.50 / CA$9.99–$10.99 and is 0.46 US fl oz / 13.5 mL. The polish is free of toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). It is made in the USA.

Essie Cosmetics, founded in 1981, is based in Westfield NJ, USA. In 2010, Essie was acquired by the L’Oréal Group.

I have this shade! It’s in my untrieds pile… dunno why though. It’s the quintessential Fall shade for me. It’s actually quite similar to the Cashmere Matte shade I was wearing last week in Comfy in Cashmere.

I had never heard much about this polish until the past couple months, so I literally thought it was a random new one in the Essie permanent line! No idea it was an older one. It feels like I just started seeing it in stores too, I was so confused haha. It’s such a pretty fall shade 🙂 Please please show more ‘fall’-y colours like these from your collection!! (read as: no more orange) 😉 hahah. But seriously, I love fall nail polish colours and if you have a massive stash of polishes, I’m going to want to see what you’ve got! 😀